Fabulous Friday {19}

Fabulous Friday is opening early this week!  Let's get the weekend party started!

I've gotta make this short and sweet today. I'm leaving tonight for the wedding celebration of one of my college roommates.  There were 7 of us girls who shared a house in college and the last time I got to see them all together was way back in 2005 at another wedding.  So I'm VERY excited to have a weekend away!

 Here are some Fabulous Features from last week.

Jodi at Meaningful Mama put together this colorful rainbow party.

Victoria at vixenMade built this amazing dress up closet for her daughter.  I want one!

   Katie at My Darling Days made this yummy fruit pizza.  It looks so pretty (and tasty!)

Laura at Happy Canadian Home made this birdfeeder out of a plastic bottle and wooden spoons!  This is on my to-do list for sure!

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up.  I love looking through your projects and feel very lucky that such wonderful people share here each week.

Grab a button from my sidebar if you were featured today.

On to this week's par-tay...

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

Spring Mantel

My Easter decorating is really lacking.  Okay, practically non-existent.  But I have managed to put together a cute mantel that will last long past Easter.  Want to see?  Of course you do.

Here it is:

Simple and cute.  I usually decorate the mirror with something for each holiday/season. Remember my Valentine Hanging?   Currently, we are using gel clings.  My kids love those things.  You would think they were the most expensive items in the world based on my daughter's reaction.  Lucky for me, Target sells them for a buck.  I've got a stash for every season and holiday.

I'm in love with mason jars.  Blue mason jars to be exact.  I just love using them for vases for pretty flowers.  These are some azaleas that I got from my yard.  Aren't they gorgeous?  

My yard has TONS of azalea bushes.  Thank you Mr. Landlord or whoever planted them.  I get to enjoy them and I didn't have to do any work planting!

The vases are my Beach Glass Vases that I made last year.  

Originally, they were the same color as the blue mason jar but they seem to have faded over time.  I have no idea why.  I will definitely be making some more this spring and summer.  I love the fact that you can turn your vases and jars into any color despite the fact that these now look frosted instead of blue.

Did you catch a glimpse of the frame next to the flowers?  That is my newest project.  A tutorial on that will be coming sometime next week.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful spring so far.  It really is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love being able to be outside before it gets ridiculously hot in the summer.

Now if I could only get my butt in gear and do the spring cleaning that this house desperately needs!

Adding a "Pin-It" Button to Your Posts

Do you spend hours on Pinterest searching for inspiration?  Do you want people to be able to "pin" your images directly from your blog? This is important because as a blogger, you want any images of yours that are "pinned" to be linked directly back to your blog.  By adding a "pin it" button to your posts, you are allowing people to easily "pin" directly from your blog.

  I am going to show you how to automatically add one to the bottom of EVERY post.  Once and done, people!

READY?  Here we go... Super Easy!

1.

First, you need to choose an image that you want.  You can do a Google search for Pinterest icons or you can use the one that I used, below.  Right click on it and save it to your computer.  Upload it to Photobucket so your image has its own URL.  

 2.

This is the CODE you will need to add the button to your blog

<a href="javascript:void((function(){var%20e=document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8');e.setAttribute('src','http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());"><img alt="Pin It!" style='border: none;' src="INSERT IMAGE URL HERE"/></a>



Replace INSERT IMAGE URL HERE with your image URL from Photobucket.
Not sure which URL code to use?  Use the code that says "Direct Link".

3.

You will now need to paste this code into your blog.  These directions are for Blogger templates.  

On the upper right corner of your blog, click on "Design"

Click on "Edit html"

Click on "Proceed"

Check "Expand Widget Templates"

Use CTRL-F to search for:  <div class='post-footer'>. Paste the code right above that.  

Fabulous Friday {18}

HAPPY FRIDAY

I hope everyone had a good week.  I'm looking forward to this weekend.  Any Hunger Games fans out there?  I can't wait to see it.  I've read the first two books and I've got the third on my Kindle.  I'm itching to dive into it when I've got a few peaceful moments.  But right now, we've got a party to get to.

Here are some great features from last week.

Lori at The Stonybrook House transformed this IKEA dresser
 with a stunning orange damask stencil.

Sarah at My Project Bag updated a lamp 

with an amazing orange glaze.

Jelli at Jellibean Journals whipped up this oh so scrumptious

 looking lime-raspberry cheesecake.

Shannon at Sew Sweet Cottage made this gorgeous 

Pottery Barn inspired quilt for her daughter.  

I am in LOVE with the colors and patterns!

Wilma at By Wilma created this unique lampshade cover.

Thanks to all who linked up!  68 link-ups this past week.  Can we make it to 100?

Grab a button from my sidebar if you were featured today.

On to this week's par-tay...

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

If you have any Easter crafts or recipes, be sure to enter the Easter Craft Challenge that I am co-hosting with Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects.  You have until March 26 to enter.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

A while back, I decided to take the leap and make my own laundry detergent.  I had heard of people doing it but I always thought that it was just too much effort.  But after I realized the ridiculous amount of laundry that I do, I came to the conclusion that I was really wasting money on store bought detergent.  And for just a small amount of effort, I can make my own detergent that costs less, lasts longer, and cleans just as well as expensive bottled detergent.  I was amazed at how easy it is.  

If you want to take the leap and make your own (I HIGHLY recommend it), here is what you need:

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

2 bars Fels Naptha

That's it!  You can find all these items in your local grocery store in the laundry section.  I bought mine at Harris Teeter.

Grate the Fels Naptha soap using a cheese grater.  Use the side of the grater that will produce the smallest particles.

Take the grated soap and run it through your food processor to grind it down into a fine powder.

Mix together with the 2 cups Borax and 2 cups Washing Soda. 

DONE!

(Make sure to mix it a bit better than I did here!  

You want the color to be uniform throughout so you get an equal amount 

of all the ingredients per spoonful).

It only takes a teaspoon to do an entire load!  I calculated it out and it comes out to approximately $5.59 per batch, depending on the price of your items.  My items were Fels Naptha ($3.38), Borax ($5.39) and Washing Soda ($3.49).  You don't use the whole box of Borax and Washing Soda so you can save those for future batches.

If you do 4 loads/week this will last you 6 months and will cost you approximately 6 cents per load!  You can't beat that!   I do WAY more than 4 loads a week but I wasn't sure what the "average" is.  It all depends on how dirty and stinky your family is :)

I have read that you can use Fels Naptha to make a paste for stain removal.  I have not tried this yet but it is next on my list.

Do you make your own detergent?  How much money do you think you are saving?

Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for my Fabulous Friday link party!

Chalkboard Paint Easter Eggs

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

It's the first day of spring but it sure feels more like summer around here. What is the weather like where you live?  Today is such a beautiful day in coastal North Carolina.  I spent the morning at the beach with the kids.  But before we left, I surprised them with a special activity...Chalkboard Paint Easter Eggs!  

I saw this project over at It's Overflowing.  Aimee created cute chalkboard paint eggs for her kids.  I thought..."hmmm I can do that."  Quick, easy, and oh so fun.

I modified my project a bit and used plastic eggs instead of real eggs. I spray painted them with chalkboard paint last night and let them dry. I LOVE chalkboard paint as you can see here.  It was very tempting to test them out last night but I waited until the kids were up this morning.  At first, I sat down to decorate one to show them "how" to do it but then realized there is no right or wrong way so I quickly backed away and let them create.  My daughter wrote her name on one and my son's were covered with scribbles.

The only problem I had with this project was that if the kids pressed too hard with the chalk, it would scrape the chalkboard paint off.   But that was ok because since the eggs were colored underneath, it still made pretty designs.  Maybe I need to put more coats of paint on in the future.  Or maybe I need to use real eggs.  My kids have a very "heavy" hand and in my head I had visions of real eggs breaking and meltdowns occurring.  Hence, I went with the plastic eggs.

Have you decorated any eggs yet?  

Fabulous Friday {16} Features

As promised, here are the features from LAST week's Fabulous Friday party.  I usually get these up on Friday before the new link party but things around here just got a bit crazy/overwhelming last week.

Ashley at Ashley's Dandelion Wishes created this cute treat box. 

Amy at Life is {Sew} Daily shows us how to transform a long-sleeve shirt into a short sleeve with ruffles!

 Mari at Inspired by Family Magazine created these inspirational wall hooks.

Kara at Happy Go Lucky made these beautiful DIY Earrings.  She's got a few more styles in her post so be sure to check those out too!

Thank you to everyone who links up every week.  If you were featured here, be sure to grab a featured button from my sidebar.

This week's Fabulous Friday is currently open.  I can't wait to see what everyone has been crafting!

Taste the Rainbow

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Here is a simple snack that I made for my kids.  Simple but festive {and healthy}.

It is actually a lot of fruit and is enough for a meal for the little ones.  I gave them a side of Lucky Charms and some green milk too!  

What special things have you done with your kids to celebrate the day?

Fabulous Friday {17}

It's been a long week so I apologize for not having any features today.  I will be doing features this weekend.  Thanks to everyone who linked up!  I appreciate each and every one.  Even though there are no features today...

We are still having a party!

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

If you have any Easter crafts or recipes, be sure to enter the Easter Craft Challenge that I am co-hosting with Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects.  You have until March 26 to enter.

Pallet Art Table

My children LOVE to do any sort of craft or art project.  My oldest really loves to color.  My youngest.. well let's just say he likes to make messes and harass his sister while she is creating her masterpieces.  My dining room table is getting eaten alive by all their projects (and more importantly...mommy has no where to craft if they are using the table).  I knew they needed there very own space so I made them a Pallet Art Table.  Well, my husband made it and I painted it. The inspiration for this project came from the kid's pallet table at Shabby Love. She made and AMAZING table out of pallets and it looked pretty simple to do.  Guess what?  It was SUPER simple.

Here is how I did it....

MATERIALS

Deck boards (or pallets)

Boards for the base

Stair spindles for the legs 

Wood putty

Sand paper

Primer

Paint

Screws

Drill

DIRECTIONS

Cut the deck boards(or pallets) to the size that you want the table

I used deck boards instead of pallets because that is what  had on hand

Cut the legs down to the size that you want.  

We could not find actual table legs so we used stair spindles instead.  

We had to cut the spindles down so they were short enough for the height of the table that we wanted. 

Build your base like so...

(this pic was taken after the top had been screwed on because I forgot to take one before)

My table is 22"x30" and 29.5" tall

The measurement is for the table top, which overhangs the base a little, as you can see above.

 Screw the legs into the base and counter sink your screws.

Screw the deck boards down to the top of the base and counter sink your screws.

Fill all holes with wood putty and sand with a low grit sand paper.

Since we used pressure treated wood, I had to prime the top with an old based primer in order for the paint to stick.  Normally, I HATE priming but you can buy spray paint primer that makes the process sooo much quicker.

I sprayed two coats of Kilz interior oil based primer.

I purchased a sample jar of Valspar paint in "Fired Earth" for a couple bucks since I knew I didn't need an entire can.

You can see the white primer and the paint color in the picture, above.

After the primer dried, I painted the top with 2 coats of paint.  Then I let it dry outside and it got covered with yellow pollen that got down into every crevice.  Soooo... I put a third coat on and brought the table inside very soon after it dried.

I painted the base with white that I had on hand from when I painted my dining room table.

The legs were already white so I did not paint them.

Now I have a custom art table for just under 20 bucks.

 ($12 for the legs, $5 for the primer and $2 for the paint sample)

 Have you built any furniture lately?

Easter Craft Challenge

Welcome to the 

EASTER CRAFT CHALLENGE

<center><a href="http://herecomesthesun-kelly.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Here Comes the Sun" src="http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb85/kellymaynard98/Blog%20buttons/EasterChallengeButton.jpg"/></a></center>

I am excited to be co-hosting this Challenge with Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects.  Are you ready to have a little craft competition?

HERE ARE THE RULES

 There are three categories: 

 1. Sewing Projects

2. Crafty Projects (Non-Sewing)

3. Recipes and Edibles


You must be a follower of both Here Comes the Sun AND Happy Hour Projects to participate. You can follow via either GFC or Linky.

 Link up your projects in the appropriate category, below. Projects need to be Easter related.

We are limiting entries to one entry per category per participant.

The Easter Craft Challenge link-up will be open for two weeks, ending on Monday, March 26. 

 Each category will be narrowed down to the Top 5 projects by Adrianne and myself.

We will be judging the projects based on originality, quality and presentation

 The Top 5 in each category will be posted on Sunday, April 1.

Voting (by YOU!) will take place from April 2 through April 7.

 First and second place winners in each category will be posted on Sunday, April 8. 

Winners get a fabulous button to be displayed on your site

Good luck and start linking!

Fabulous Friday{16}

Welcome to Friday!  

How was everyone's week?  It was another beautiful Spring(?) day here. Speaking of Spring, starting on Monday, I am co-hosting and Easter-themed craft challenge with Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects.  It is sure to be a fun-filled craft competition with a little bit of everything so stop back by on Monday for all the details.

Moving on to the party

There were over 60 link-ups last week!  I love how this party is growing. Be sure to tell all your bloggy friends that THE place to party on Friday is right here! 

Here are some features from last week...

Stephanie at Lady With the Red Rocker created this beautiful Family Tree Pendant.

Vanessa at Nifty Thrifty Things made this homemade lemon ginger syrup cold remedy.

                     SJ at Homemaker on a Dime cooked this yummy snack called Banana Cue.

Jodi at Meaningful Mama got creative at bath time with a glowstick bath.

If you were featured today, grab a button from my sidebar.

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.